Phototypesetting apparatus

ABSTRACT

A phototypesetting apparatus for imprinting typographical characters on a photosensitive material, including a character spacing assembly having a stop edge and a leading edge formed therein, the distance therebetween defining a character spacing gap, the character spacing gap being shaped and disposed, to cooperate with an indexing slide, having a photomatrix affixed thereto, to positively control the movement of the photosensitive material within the character spacing gap, thereby assuring a consistent, predetermined character spacing of the characters on the photosensitive material.

[4 1 June 6, 1972 [54] PHOTOTYPESETTING APPARATUS Primary Examiner-John M. Horan Attorney-Dunlap, Laney, Hessin & Dougherty [72] Inventor: Arless B. Noble, 428 Chatauqua, Norman,

Okla. 73069 57 ABSTRACT [22] Filed: 1970 A phototypesetting apparatus for imprinting typographical [2]] Appl No; 8,816 characters on a photosensitive material, including a character 1 spacing assembly having a stop edge and a leading edge Remed Application Data formed therein, the distance therebetween defining a character spacing gap, the character spacing gap being shaped commuauon'm'pan of 547,400 May and disposed, to cooperate with an indexing slide, having a 1966, photomatrix afiixed thereto, to positively control the movement of the photosensitive material within the character spac- [52] US. Cl ..95/4.5 in I gap thereby assuring a consistent, predetermined [5i] 'Int.Cl ..B4lb 13/10 character spacing of the characters on the photosensitive [58] 7 Field of Search ..95/4.5 material.

[56] References cued 16 Claims, 16 Drawing Figures UNlTED STATES PATENTS 3,183,812 5/1965 Borisof e, ..95/4.5

'l W o 56 9/ l 48 v 1| 1 0 76 ll 50 .1 PHOTOTYPESE'I'I'ING APPARATUS- f RELATED APPLICATIONS 3 This application isa continuation-in-part'of my copending application Ser. No. 547,400, entitled Phototypesetting-Apparatus for Display Typography" filed May 3, I966, now US.

Pat. No. 3,552,284.

BACKGROUND OFTHE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention I This invention relates generally to improvements in phototypesetting apparatus, and more particularly, but not by way of limitation, to an improvedphototypesetting apparatus having a character spacing assembly for assuring proper spacing of the typographical characters imprinted on the photosensi tive material. v v I .2. Description of the Prior Art In the past there have been various devices for producing display typography for graphic arts by photographicmeans otherwise. known as photo-lettering." One of the problems encountered with such prior devices has been to assure a'consistent character spacing.

These prior devices have generally used either relatively complex and expensive mechanisms in order to obtain intercharacter spacing, or the consistency of such character spac-. ing has generally depended to a large extent upon the discretionof the individual operator to make use of asomewhat tedious and difficult visual indices type of alignment apparatus. It isapparent that thosedevices which rely upon an alignment of visual indices depend almost entirely on the discretion andexperience of the operator using such devices. It

has been found that use ofvisual indices generally results in an inconsistent inter-character spacing on the photosensitive material, a result certainly not desirable in display typography.

suM vIARY OFTI-IE INVENTION The present invention contemplates a phototypesetting apparatus-for imprinting characters from a photomatrix upon a photosensitive material, wherein thecharacter spacing is positively assured. The phototypesetter generally includes a base, having opposite end portionsrA portion of the base is sized to slidingly" receive the photosensitive material. A character spacing assembly is disposed on the' base, and includes an.indexing slide, having an upper and a lower portion. The photomatrix is afiixed'to the upper portion of the indexing slide and the indexing slide is disposed on thebase such that a portion of the photosensitive material is interposed between a portion of the indexing slide and the base. A plurality of indexing apertures are formed through the lower portion of the indexing slide, and at least one indexing aperture isdisposed in a corresponding relationship with each character on the photo matrix; a device is disposed on the base and is generally interposed between the portion of the indexing slide having the indexing apertures therein and a portion of the photosensitive material. The device has a leading edge and a stop edge formed therein. The leading edge generally faces the stop edge, and the edges are shaped and disposed to cooperate to define a character spacing gap therebetween. The character spacing gap is shaped and disposed such that a portion of the photosensitive material communicates with the indexing apertures generally between the leading edge and the stop edge, and to cooperate with the indexing apertures to define the character spacing for eachcharacter on the photomatrix. The

phototypesetter also includes a second device adapted to engage and move the photosensitive material a distance on the base generally between the opposite: ends of the base, within the character spacing gap, via one of the indexing apertures. The second device. is also adapted to alternately engage the leading edge and the stop edge of the first mentioned device to limit the movement of the second device within the character spacing gap, thereby limiting the movement of the photosensitive material in engagement therewith such that the characters imprinted on the photosensitive material are spaced a consistent distance apart.

sitive material.

- Another object of the invention is to provide a phototypesetter which can be operated in a more efficient manner, thereby reducing operator time, and yet maintaining a con.- sistent intercharacter spacing in the'final composition.

A stillfurther objectof the invention is to provide a phototypesetting apparatus which is economical in construction and operation. a

Other objects and advantages" ofthe invention will be evident from the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings which illustrate the various embodiments of'the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a pictorial view of a phototypesetter constructed in accordance with the present invention. v

FIG. 2 is an elevational view of a portion of the phototypesetter of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is. an elevational view a of a central portion of the phototypesetter of FIG. 1, having the lamp assembly removed therefrom.

FIG. 4 is an elevational view, similar to FIG. 3, but showing a central portion of the phototypesetter having the shutter assembly. and the hold down bar removed therefrom.

1 FIG. 5 is asectional view of the phototypesetter, taken substantially along the linesS-S of FIG. 2.

FIG. 6 is a view of the phototypesetter similar to FIG. 3, but showing the shutter assembly in a different operating position on the phototypesetter.

' FIG. 7 is a sectional view of the phototypesetter, taken substantially along the lines 7 7 of FIG..2.

FIG. 8 is an elevational view of aportion of the indexing slide of the phototypesetter of FIG. 1.;

FIG. 9 is a view similar to FIG. 8, but showing a modified indexing slide. H

FIG. 10 is an elevational view of a modified stop, shown therein with a portion of the bearing strip of the phototypesetter of FIG. 1.

FIG. 11 is a view similar to FIG. 10, but showing another modified stop. a

FIG. 12 is a view similar to FIG. 10, but showing yet another modified stop which may be utilized in the phototypesetter.

FIG. 13 is an elevational view of a. modified stop and an elevational view of a modified bearing strip which can be util ized in a modified phototypesetter.

FIG. 14 is a fragmentary, partial elevational view showing an alternate means of advancing the photosensitive material through a portion of the phototypesetter.

FIG. 15 is a sectional view of the modified phototypesetter of FIG. 14, taken substantially along the lines 15-15 of FIG.

FIG. -16 is a sectional view showing a transparent slide adapted to carry the photosensitive material through the phototypesetter of FIG. 1 in a modified mariner.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to the drawings in detail, and to FIGS. 1 through 7 in particular, shown therein, and designated by the general reference character 10, is a phototypesetting device constructed in accordance with the invention. The phototypesetter 10 generally comprises: a base 12; a lamp assembly 14 secured to the base 12 and disposed generally over the central portion thereof; a shutter assembly 16 supported by the base 12 and disposed generally between the base 12 and the lamp assembly 16; an indexing slide 18 slidingly disposed in the base 12; a cover 20 disposed over one end portion of the base 12; a mask 22 supported on the base 12 and disposed generally between indexing slide 18 and a portion of the base 12; and a character spacing assembly 24 affixed to the base 12, which includes the indexing slide 18.

In general, the phototypesetter is adapted to slidingly receive a strip of photosensitive material 26 and to imprint typographical characters thereon. After imprinting the characters on the photosensitive material 26, the material 26 is developed and or fixed as required in the particular application. More particularly, the phototypesetter 10 is adapted to assure a consistent, proportional spacing of each character imprinted on the photosensitive material 26 in a manner virtually independent of operator indiscretion, as will be described in more detail below. The base 12 is preferably constructed of a relatively rigid material and has opposite ends 28 and 30, a front side 32, a rear side 34 and a top 36.

As shown more clearly in FIG. 7, a guide channel 38 is formed in the top 36 of the base 12, extending between and intersecting the opposite ends 28 and 30. The guide channel 38 forms a pair of oppositely facing, parallel walls 40 and 42 extending between the opposite ends 28 and 30 of the base 12. The walls 40 and 42 are spaced apart a sufficient distance that the indexing slide 18 can be slidingly disposed therebetween, for reasons to be more fully described below.

As shown more clearly in FIG. 7, a material guide channel 44 is formed in a portion of the base 12, extending between and intersecting the opposite ends 28 and 30 of the base 12. The material guide channel 44 is disposed generally between, and extends generally parallel to, the walls 40 and 42 of the guide channel 38. The material guide channel 44 has a smaller transverse width than the guide channel 38, thereby forming an upwardly facing surface 46 therebetween. The material guide channel 44 is sized to slidingly receive the strip of I photosensitive material 26, in a manner to be more fully described below.

As shown more clearly in FIGS. 3, 4, and 6, an elongated recess 48 is formed in a central portion of the top 36 of the base 12. The elongated recess 48 intersects a portion of the wall 40 formed by the guide channel 38. A second elongated recess 50 is formed in a central portion of the top 36 of the base 12 and intersects a portion of the wall 42 formed by the guide channel 38. It is apparent from the foregoing, that the elongated recesses 48 and 50 form oppositely opposed walls in the base 12, and each recess 48 and is sized and disposed to .cooperate with a portion of .the shutter assembly 16, in a manner to be more fully described below.

In one form and as shown more clearly in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4, a portion 52 of the base 12, generally adjacent the front 32 thereof, is adapted to be removable from the remainder of the base 12. The removable portion 52 extends between the end 30 of the base 12 and a central portion of the recess 50, and is removably severed from the base 12 on a plane which is coplanar with the upwardly facing surface 46 in the base 12. It is apparent from the foregoing, and from FIG. 4, that the removal of the portion 52 from the remainder of the base 12 extends the upwardly facing surface 46 transversely across the base 12, intersecting the front 32 thereof. The removable portion 52 is referred to below as the hold-down bar 52, and is removably secured to the base 12 by a pair of thumb screws 54, which are disposed at opposite ends of the hold-down bar 52.

As shown more clearly in FIG. 4, the mask 22 has opposite end portions 56 and 58, and is sized to extend over the material guide channel 44 such that the opposite sides of the mask 22 are disposed adjacent the upwardly facing surface 46 in the base 12, the mask22 being supported thereby. The mask 22 is also sized such that the end 58 thereof extends a distance beyond the end 30 of the base 12, and the end 56 thereof is disposed near a central portion of the base 12 generally near one end of the elongated recess 48.

In a preferred form, the mask 22 is constructed of a relatively thin, opaque material, and functions to protect the photosensitive material 26 from premature exposure to light. In the assembled position, and as shown more clearly in FIGS. 1 and 4, the mask 22 is interposed between the photosensitive material 26 and the indexing slide 18. It should be noted that the distance between the photomatrix and the photosensitive material 26 determines to some degree the sharpness of the typographical character imprinted on the photosensitive material 26. In other words, if the distance between the indexing slide 18 and the photosensitive material 26 is too great, the exposing light will be somewhat diffused and the result will be a typographical character having somewhat blurred outer lines. This distance or separation between the indexing slide 18 and the photosensitive material 26 must, however, be balanced against a practical limitation of material thickness; In practice and in a preferred form, a material thickness of from one-thousandths to two-thousandths of an inch has been found to be adequate for the mask 22.

The character spacing assembly 24 includes a bearing strip 60 and a stop 62 (see FIGS. 1 and 6). The bearing strip 60, the stop 62, and the indexing slide 18 cooperate with a stylus 64 to assure a predetermined inter-character spacing, in a manner to be made more apparent below.

As shown more clearly in FIGS. 2, 3, 4 and 6, the bearing strip 60 has opposite ends 66 and 68 and is sized such thata portion thereof is interposed between a portion of the mask 22 and the hold-down bar 52, the hold-down bar 52 thereby cooperating to secure the bearing strip 60 in the assembled position. As shown more clearly in FIG. 4, the bearing strip 60 has a pair of elongated apertures 70 and 72, which are sized and disposed to cooperate with a pair of studs 74 which are secured to the base 12 such that the position of the bearing strip 60 on the base 12 may be adjusted in a horizontal plane for reasons to be made more apparent below.

A flange portion 76 is formed on a portion of the end 68 of the bearing strip 60, thereby forming a leading edge 80 on the bearing strip 60, opposite the end 66-thereof. The bearing strip 60 is sized and disposed such that, in an assembled position, the leading edge 80 of the flange portion 76 extends transversely with respect to a horizontal line extending between the ends 28 and 30 of the base 12 over a portion of the material guide channel 44, for reasons to be made more apparent below.

As shown more clearly in FIGS. 4 and .6, the stop 62 is removably and adjustably secured to a portion of the upwardly facing surface 46 of the base 12. In a preferred form, the stop 62 is constructed of a relatively rigid material, and has an engaging stop edge 82 formed on one end thereof. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, the stop edge 82 is formed on an angle 84 with respect to the longitudinal axis of the base and, in the worm bled position, the stop 62 is disposed on the base 12 such that the stop edge 82' generally faces the leading edge 80 of the bearing strip 60. As shown more clearly in FIGS. 3 and 6, the stop 62 is sized and disposed such that in an assembled position, the stop edge 82 is angularly disposed over a portion of the material guide channel 44 with respect to a line extending between the opposite ends 28 and 30 of the base 12.

As shown in FIG. 4, a pair of arcuately shaped apertures 86 and 88 are formed through the stop 62. A; pair of studs 90 are secured to the upwardly facing surface 46 of the base 12, and each stud 90 is sized and disposed to extend through a portion of one of the apertures 86 or 88 in the stop 62. The apertures 86 and 88 are each sized and disposed to cooperate with the studs 90, such that the angle 84 of the stop edge 82 may be selectively altered with respect to the horizontal line. The angle 84 which is utilized relates to a particular photomatrix and, more particularly, the angle 84 relates'to the width of the characters on a photomatrix, and more particularly to the point size of the character on the photomatrix, as will be described in greater detail below.

As described before, the leading edge 80 of the bearing strip I I 60 extends transversely over a portion of the photosensitive material 26, and the stop edge 82 extends angularly over a distance generally toward or-away from the stop edge 82,

thereby proportionally decreasing or increasing the character spacing gap. This particular adjustment permits the intercharacter spacing to be selectively altered, in a manner to be more fully described below.

The indexing slide 18 is preferably constructed of a transparent material and is sized to slidingly extend in the guide channel 38 in the base 12. As shown more clearly in FIG. 8, a

photomatrix 91 is secured on an upper portion of the indexing slide 18 and positioned thereon by pins 92. Photomatrixes of this type are well known in the art and no further description is required. It should be noted, that in an alternate form the photomatrix 91 could be imprinted on the indexing slide 18, thereby providing. an integral unit. However, utilizing a separable photomatrix enables an indexing slide 18 with a given indexing hole pattern to be utilized with alternate photomatrixes having different type sizes of a given style. As shown more clearly in FIG. 8, the indexing slide 18 includes a plurality of indexing apertures 96 formed through a lower portion thereof. One indexing aperture 96 is disposed in a corresponding relationship with each typographical character formed on the photomatrix. The transverse location of each indexing aperture 96 is spaced from a horizontal datum line 100 in correlation to a particular character spacing gap as will be made more apparent below. The datum line 100 is substantially parallel to the line of alignment of the characters on the photomatrix 91, the line of alignment being used sometimes below to orient the various portions of the character spacing assembly 24 including the indexing slide 18. As shown more clearly in FIG. 3, a line paralleling the stop edge 82 and being offset therefrom by a distance approximately equal to one-half the thickness of the lower engaging portion of the stylus 64 willintersect the datum line 100 at a point through which a second datum line 101, orthogonal to the datum line 100, passes. It should also be noted that the datum line 100 is disposed such that the intersection thereof with the datum line 101 occurs generally adjacent the forwardmost portion of the stop edge 82. The distance from the datum line 101 longitudinally to the stop edge 82 corresponds to the particular character width on the particular photomatrix. The distance from the datum line 101 longitudinally to the leading edge 80 corresponds to the particular inter-character spacing. The two distances mentioned above of course define the character spacing gap.

The shutter assembly 16 includes a movable shutter 102 and a stationary shutter 104. The movable shutter 102 and the stationary shutter 104 are each sized and disposed to cooperate to form an exposure aperture through which light from the lamp assembly 14 may pass, thereby exposing a portion of the photosensitive material 26 via the character formed on the photomatrix 91.

The movable shutter 102 is constructed of a material which is opaque to light and, as shown more clearly in FIG. 3, the movable shutter 102 is slidingly disposed in the recesses 48 and 50 of the base 12 and is sized to extend across the guide channel 38 and the material guide channel 44 of the base 12. One edge 106 of the movable shutter 102 transversely extends over the guide channel 38 and the opposite end 108 of the movable shutter 102 extends over the guide channel 38 at an angle 110 with a horizontal center line, for reasons to be made more apparent below- The movable shutter 102 is slidingly positionable in the recesses 48 and 50 by an elongated push rod 112. In one position of the movable shutter 102 and as shown in FIG. 3 and 5,

one end of the push rod 112 is secured in an aperture 114 extending through a portion of the movable shutter 102, generally adjacent the edge 106 thereof, and the opposite end of the push rod 112 is slidingly disposed in hollow, cylindrically shaped shaft 1 16.

The shaft 116 is secured to an upper portion of the cover 20 and has a spring 1 18 disposed therein. The spring 118 is sized and disposed such that one end thereof engages one end of the shaft 116 and the opposite end thereof biasingly engages the adjacent end of the push rod 116. It is apparent from the foregoing, that the spring 118 biases the push rod 116 in a generally outwardly direction with respect to the shafi 116. As shown in FIG. 3, and due to the interconnection between the push rod 112 and the movable shutter 102, the push rod 112 will bias the movable shutter 102 to a position wherein a portion of the edge 106 of the movable shutter 102 engages the wall formed by one end portion of the recess 50in the base 12, thereby limiting the movement of the movable shutter 102 in one direction.

It is apparent from the foregoing, that the movable shutter 102 may be slidingly moved in the recesses 48 and 50 by applying a force to the edge 106 thereof in a direction generally against the biasing force of the spring 118. When the movable shutter 102 is moved in this manner, the spring 118 will function to bias the movable shutter 102 back to the stationary position, as described above, when such force is removed from the edge 106.

The stationary shutter 104 is removably secured to a portion of the top 36 of the base 12, generally adjacent a central portion thereof, by a thumb screw 120. The stationary shutter 104 is preferably constructed of an opaque material and has a transversely extending edge 122 and an angularly extending edge 124 formed thereon. The stationary shutter 104 is disposed generally between the lamp assembly 14 and the base 12 and is sized and disposed to cooperate with the movable shutter 102 to define a light exposure opening. More particularly, the transverse edge 122 of the stationary shutter 104 cooperates with the transverse edge 106 of the movable shutter 102, in one position, and in an alternate position, the angular edge 124 of the stationary shutter 104 cooperate with the angular edge 108 of the movable shutter 102 to provide the aperture opening, as will be described in more detail below.

As shown more clearly in FIG. 7, the lamp assembly 14 basically includes a light source 126 and a timing apparatus 128 both of which are secured in a lamp housing 130. A reflector shield 132 is secured to a portion of the front edge 134 of the lamp housing 130 and is constructed and disposed to reflect the light from the light source 126 onto the photosensitive material 26 which is disposed generally below the lamp assembly 14. The reflector 132 focuses the light from the light source 126 at a point generally in closer proximity to the photosensitive material 26, thereby permitting the light source 126 to be disposed a greater distance from the photosensitive material 26, and yet maintain a sharp focus with respect to the character image to be imprinted on the photosensitive material 26. This particular configuration permits the front side 134 of the lamp housing 130 to be sloped away from the front 32 of the base 12, and thus provides clearance for the stylus 64 and the operators hand during the operation of the phototypesetter 10, as will be described in more detail below.

It should be noted that adequate light source distance is desirable both for eveness of exposure and sharpness of the shadow image cast by the photomatrix 91. In order to achieve the latter, the light source should be as small as practical. If an incandescent light source is used, the'bulb should be of the clear, rather than of the frosted type, and the filament should be as compact as possible.

A suitable timing apparatus 128 is of adelayed action, switch type, wherein the contacts are closed voluntarily by pushing a button 136. The reopening of the contacts is delayed by a dash-pot for a pre-determined period of time, and in a preferred form, the dash-pot should be of a variable orifice type so that the exposure time may be adjusted, Such timing devices are commercially available and well known in the art, and therefore no further description is required herein.

As shown in FIG. 1, the stylus 64 has an upper portion 136, which is sized and adapted to be conveniently held by the operator during the operation of the phototypesetter l0, and a lower portion 138 which is sized to be inserted through the indexing apertures 96 of the indexing slide 18, and to impinge upon a portion of the photosensitive material 26. In order to insure a proper cooperation between the lower portion 138 of the stylus 64 and the engaged portionof the photosensitive material 26, it has been found that the lower portion 138 is preferably constructed of a hollow tubular material, having a chamfered lower edge disposed to engage photosensitive material.

OPERATION OF FIGS. 1 THROUGH 8 In the operation of the phototypesetter 10, the operator will first select a particular indexing slide 18 having the desired font or photomatrix 91 affixed thereto. The stop 62 is then slidingly adjusted about the studs 90, in a manner described before, to a position wherein the stop surface 82 extends over the material guide channel 44 at the proper angle 84 (see FIG. 6) corresponding to the type (point" size) of the selected photomatrix 91. In a preferred form, the stop 62 has a plurality of indexing lines 140, as shown in FIG. 4, etched thereon. The indexing lines 140 are disposed such that the operator can align the particular indexing line 140 with the front 32 of the hold-down bar 52, thereby indicating that the stop edge 82 extends at the proper angle 84 over the base 12.

In one form, the indexing lines 140 could be color-coded to correspond to a particular type size. As well known in the art, various photomatrixes have different styles of characters formed thereon. The proportional width of the various characters will therefore vary depending on the particular style. The stop 62, and more particularly, the angle 84 of the stop edge 82 is adjustable, thereby permitting the same stop 62 to be utilized with various type sizes on different photomatrixes.

The bearing strip 60 is then adjusted longitudinally to a position wherein the leading edge 80 of the flange portion 76 is positioned over the material guide channel 44, and spaced from the stop surface 82 a distance corresponding to the desired inter-character spacing. A short scale could be provided on the upper surface 46, adjacent the leading edge 80 to facilitate this adjustment. The hold-down bar 52 is then secured to the base l2 by the thumb screws 54, thereby securing the stop 62, the bearing strip 60 and the mask 22 in an assembled position.

The photosensitive material 26 is then inserted into the material guide channel 44 via the end 30 of the base 12. The photosensitive material 26 is slidingly disposed between the mask 22 and the portion of the base 12 formed by the material guide channel 44. The photosensitive material 26 is then moved lengthwise in the material guide channel 44 to a position wherein a portion thereof extends beyond the end 58 of the mask 22 and is disposed generally under the lamp as sembly 14. In this position, and as shown more clearly in FIGS. 3 and 6, a portion of the photosensitive material 26 is disposed between the leading edge 80 of the flange portion 76 and the stop surface 82 of the stop 62, or in other words, is disposed in the character spacing gap. The indexing slide 18 is then slidingly disposed in the guide channel 38, to a position wherein the indexing apertures 96 therethrough are disposed generally over a portion of the bearing strip 60.

The operator then places the lower engaging portion 138 of the stylus 64 through the indexing aperture 96 corresponding to the particular typographical letter to be imprinted on the photosensitive material26. In this position, the lower end or engaging portion 138 of the stylus 64 slidingly contacts a portion of the bearing strip 60 directly thereunder. The operator next moves the stylus in a direction generally toward the lamp assembly 14, thereby moving the indexing slide 18 following the movement of the stylus 64. The lower end 138 of the stylus 64 will slide over the surface of the bearing strip 60, as the stylus is moved in a manner described above, to a position wherein the lower end 138 of the stylus engages the leading edge of the bearing strip 60.

As the lower end 128 of the stylus 64 engages the leading edge 80 of the bearing strip 60, the stylus is moved in a generally downward direction to a position wherein the lower end 138 thereof engages a portion of the photosensitive material 26 directly under the particular indexing aperture 96, generally adjacent the leading edge 80 of the flange 76. With the lower end 138 of the stylus 64 in engagement with a portion of the photosensitive material 26, the movement of the stylus 64 is continued in a general direction toward the lamp assembly 14. The stylus will continue to be moved in a direction toward the end 28 of the base 12, thereby moving the photosensitive material 26, to a point wherein the lower end 138 of thestylus 64 engages the stop surface 82 of the stop 62, thereby arresting the motion of the stylus.

It is apparent from the foregoing that since the edge 122 of the movable shutter 102 extends over the guide channel 38 and is disposed generally, closer to the end 30 of the base 12 with respect to the stop surface 82 of the stop 62, that the lower end 138 of the stylus 64 will also engage the edge 106 of the movable shutter 102 and move the shutter 102 in a direction generally toward the end 28 of the base 12 against the biasing force of the spring 118. As shown more clearly in FIG. 3 in full lines, this displacement of the movable shutter 102 by the stylus 64 produces an exposure opening defined by the distance between the edge 106 of the movable shutter 102 and the edge 122 of the stationary shutter 104. This exposure opening of course varies with the engagement of the lower end 138 of the stylus 64 with various portions of the stop surface 82 of the stop 62. It is therefore apparent that the exposure opening is also controlled by the stop surface 82, so that the exposure opening may thus be sized to correspond to the 'particular typographical character to be imprinted on the photosensitive material 26.

The operation of the phototypesetter 10 may be more particularly described with respect to the imprinting of a particu lar typographical character upon the photosensitive material 26. For example, if it is desired to imprint the letter F on the photosensitive material 26, the lower end 128 of the stylus 64 is inserted through the indexing aperture 96-P, as indicated in FIG. 3.

When the end 138 of the stylus 64 reaches the leading edge 80, the end 138 will as previously stated, be moved into engagement with the portion of the photosensitive material 26 directly under the leading edge 80. It should be noted that in this position, the engaging end 138 of the stylus 64 depends a distance 142-? from the datum line 100. The stylus 64 will continue to be moved in a direction generally toward the stop edge 82, thereby moving the photosensitive material 26 a distance between the leading edge 80 and the stop edge 82.

It is apparent from the foregoing, that the photosensitive material 26 will be moved a' distance 144-? transversely between the leading edge 80 and the stop edge 82. The distance 144-P comprises the sum of a distance and a distance 152-P, as shown in FIG. 3. The distance l50-P between the leading edge 80 and the datum line 101 corresponds to the inter-character spacing, and the distance 152-P between the datum line 101 and the stop edge 82'corresponds .to the precise width of the character. P on the photomatrix 91. i T

It is apparent from the foregoing that the location of the.

particular indexing aperture 96 corresponding to each character on the photomatrix 91 controls the distance 152 through which the photosensitive material 26 is moved prior to engagement of the stylus 64 with the stop edge 82. Therefore, utilizing the phototypesetter 10, the photosensitive material 26 is moved a distance 152 precisely equalling the width of the particular character to be imprinted thereon. It is also apparent that the distance 150, or the inter-character spacing through which the photosensitive material is moved by the stylus 64', remains constant or fixed for each character on the photomatrix.

It should also be noted, that the distance 150 may be lengthened or shortened by adjusting the bearing strip 60 iongitudinally in a horizontal plane, thereby moving the leading edge 80. generally awayirom or toward the stop edge 82. The particular desired inter-character spacing is therefore adjustably controlled utilizing the phototypesetter 10.

in a non-operating position, the edge 1060f the movable shutter 102 is aligned with the datum line 101. Thus, as the stylus 64 is moved'across the character spacing gap, the stylus 64 will also engagethe edge 106 and move the movable shutter 102 a distance toward the end 28 of the base 12, against the biasing force of the spring 118. it is apparent from the foregoing, that the movable shutter 102 will be moved a distance corresponding to the width of the particular character to be imprinted on the photosensitive material 26, the movement of the stylus 64, and thus the movement of the movable shutter 102, being arrested by the engagement of the lower engaging end 138 of the stylus 64 with the stop edge 82. The exposure opening, that is the distance between the edge 106 and the edge 122, is thereby controlled to be the precise width of the character to be imprinted on the photosensitive material 26. Controlling the exposure opening in this manner results in a sharper image being produced on the photosensitive material 26 and prevents the imprintingof a portion of an adjacent character thereon.

. As shown in FIG. 6, the movable shutter 102 andthe stationary shutter 104 may both be reversed end wise, thereby placing the shutters 102 and-104 in a position wherein the angular edge 108 of the movable shutter 102 generally faces the angular edge 124 of the stationary-shutter 104. in this position, the movable shutter 102 and the stationary shutter 104 cooperate to provide an oblique, or parallelogram-shaped exposure opening rather than the orthagonal or rectangular shaped exposure opening as shown in H6. 3. This particular type of exposure opening maybe utilized in cooperation with italic or oblique characters on a photomatrix, asshown in FIG.

' it should be noted that if the rectangular shaped exposure opening is utilized with anoblique character, the exposure opening must open to the width of the orthogonal projection of that character and thusa greaterfspace is required-between matrix images and consequently longer matrices. Also, since many oblique types of characters closely correspond to related vertical styles in character widths, the use of an oblique exposure opening will often, permit the identical indexing aperture pattern to be utilized for both versions. Afterthe motion of the stylus 64 has been arrested by the stop surface 82, the operator will depress the button 136 which actuates the timing apparatus 128, thereby energizing.

the light source 126. The particular character on the photo matrix 91 which is disposed under the exposure opening is thus imprinted on the photosensitive material 26. The operator then releases the pressure on the stylus 64 and may either withdraw the stylus 64 from the indexing aperture 96 or the operator may use the stylus 64 as a convenient means to return the indexing slide 18 to a suitable position for selecting the next character.

The operation is continued in the above described manner until the desired composition has been imprinted on the photosensitive material 26. At this point, the indexing slide 18 may be withdrawn from the base 12, and the stylus 64 utilized in the character spacing gap to advance the photosensitive material 26, to a position wherein the photosensitive material 26' emerges from the end 28 of the base 12. The photosensitive material 26 is then withdrawn from the base 12 and developed in a manner well known in the art.

It should also be noted that in one form, a pica scale (not shown could be included on the phototypesetter 10. The

scale, in a preferred form, could be disposed in the material guide channel 44, directly under a portion of the cover 20. The cover 20 would in this form, be constructed of a visually transparent, but actinically opaque, material, thus the scale as well as the photosensitive material 26 could be seen therethrough. The pica scale has been found particularly useful when it is necessary to set a line to measure. This would be accomplished by first makingia blind" setting of the line (without exposure) to determine the unjustified length of same; then the line is actually set while making adjustments in the inter-words spaces by means of the pica scale, or the adjustments could be made in the letter spacing by resetting the bearing strip 60. J i

It is apparent from the foregoing, that the characters imprinted on the photosensitive material 26 comprising the final composition are all equally spaced a constant'distance apart. in other words, the inter-character spacing of the final composition is consistent and controlled by the phototypesetter 10. it is also significant to note, that the-inter-characterspacing of the final composition is controlled by the phototypesetter 10 in a manner independent of operator indiscretion, thereby permitting the phototypesetter 10 to be utilized by an inexperienced operator and yet maintaining thequaiity of the final composition constant.

EMBODIMENT or FIG. 9

A modified indexing slide 18a is shown in FlG. 9, and is adapted to be utilized with the phototypesetter 10 in a manner to be described more fully below. v

The indexing slide 18a is constructed similar to the indexing slide 18, described before, the salient difi'erence being that the indexing slide 18a has a plurality of auxiliary indexing apertures 96a associated in a corresponding relationship with some of the characters on the photomatrix 91. These additional indexing apertures 96a are positioned to allow what is known in the art as Keming of characters. It is well known in the art, thatif characters are spaced strictly according to the width of the characters, that certain combinations of characters appear to be improperly spaced. This effect arises from the shape of some characters and is particularly troublesome in the setting of copy entirely in the upper case, especially if the type size is relatively large. The additional auxiliary apertures 96a are provided to substantially alleviatethis problemby providing 1 the most troublesome letters with one or more auxiliary indexing apertures 960 so that the inter-character spacing therebetween may be varied. 1

Some of the more troublesome characters are shown in FIG. 9, with the auxiliary indexing apertures 96a associated therewith. The additional indexing apertures 96a are disposed on the indexing slide 18a and indicated thereon on the basis of the following letter, that is, a particular auxiliary indexing aperture 96a is utilized when the subsequent character to be imprinted corresponds to one of the characters labeled or indicated with the auxiliary v indexing aperture 960. An analogous scheme could of course be devised based upon the preceding character.

OPERATION OF FIG. 9

The indexing slide l8awill operate substantially similar to the indexing slide 18, described before. The simplest technique for using the indexing slide 18a is to first advance the photosensitive material 26 (in a manneras described before the respect to the indexing slide 18) with one of the indexing apertures 96 corresponding to the particular character to be imprinted, across the character spacing gap, and imprinting the character on the'photosensitive material 26. The photosensitive material 26 is then returned with the stylus 64, to its former position, that is a position wherein the engaging portion 138 of the stylus 64 engages the leading edge of the bearing strip 60. in this position, the stylus 64 is inserted in the proper auxiliary indexing aperture 96a and the photosensitive material 26 is advanced across the character spacing gap. The character is not, however, exposed at this time. The following or subsequent character is then positioned and exposed in the normal manner unless the subsequent character is also followed by a character requiring Kerning."

It should be noted, that the photosensitive material 26 could be advanced across the character spacing gap,'initially utilizing the proper auxiliary indexing aperture 96a, and the exposure made at that time by moving the movable shutter 102. However, the first mentioned technique has been found to be the simplest and easiest to utilize.

It should also be noted, that ideally there might be provided a Keming" aperture of-an auxiliary indexing aperture 96a for each combination of characters. However, this would require 26 auxiliary indexing apertures 96a for each character or a total of 676 auxiliary indexing apertures, if only upper case letters were to be accommodated. This latter approach is considered to be somewhat impractical, as many of the auxiliary indexing apertures 96a would overlap by large portions of their diameters, which taken with the necessary clearance required for inserting the stylus 64, would result in considerable indeterminancy. This latter method could, however, be accomplished by using, for example, a very steep slope for the stop edge 82 to spread the relative positions of the auxiliary indexing apertures 96a, or by offsetting the auxiliary indexing apertures 96a. If the auxiliary indexing apertures 96a are offset, there must be a standard aperture in the configuration so that the character may be positioned correctly for exposure before re-advancing the photosensitive material with the particular offset indexing aperture.

EMBODIMENT OF FIG.

Shown in FIG. 10, and designated by the reference character 62b, is a modified stop which may be utilized with the phototypesetter 10. The modified stop 62b has a stop edge 8211, having a compound geometry, that is, the upper portion 180 of the stop edge 82b is disposed at an angle 182 with respect to a line extending parallel to the line in which the characters of the photomatrix 91 are aligned, and a lower portion 184 of the stop edge 82b is disposed at an angle 186 with respect another line similarly parallel. As shown in FIG. 10, the angle 182 has a steeper slope than the angle 186, for reasons to be made apparent below.

It should also be noted that the stop 62b does not include arcuately shaped apertures, similar to the apertures 86 and 88 of the stop 62. It is therefore apparent that the position of the stop 62b on the base 12 cannot be varied in a manner as described before with respect to the stop 62, but rather, the stop 62b is of the fixed-position type.

OPERATION OF FIG. 10

The stop 62b is adapted to be utilized with the phototypesetter l0, and will operate similar to the stop 62, described before. One salient difference between these stops is that the compound geometry of the stop edge 82b permits the stop 62b to be utilized with a photomatrix having both large and small point sizes of characters formed thereon, or in the alternative with two different photomatrixes, one photomatrix having large size characters and the other photomatrix having the small size of characters. Thus, utilizing the stop 62b in a preferred form, the indexing apertures 96 of the smaller type sizes would all be intercepted by the upper portion 180 of the stop edge 82b upon movement of the indexing slide. Since the upper portion 180 has a steeper slope, a greater accuracy of inter-character spacing is achieved, which is generally required for the smaller type. In the same instance, the lower portion 184, having the lesser slope gives the stop edge 82b sufficient range variation to operate with the larger point sizes.

EMBODIMENT OF FIG. 11

Shown in FIG. 11 is another modified stop 620, which may be utilized with the phototypesetter 10. The stop 620 is of the non-adjustable or fixed-position type of stop, similar to the stop 62b, described before. The salient difference between the stop 62c and the stops described before is that the stop edge 82c of the stop 62c extends at an angle 84c from a line extending substantially parallel to the line of alignment of the characters of the photomatrix 91. The angle 840 is generally supplementary to the angle 84 of the stop 62, and thusthe stop edge 82c extends in a generally inverted direction over the base 12. It is therefore apparent, that in this embodiment of the invention; the character spacing gap will vary from a minimum to a maximum in a transverse direction across the character spacing gap, that is, a direction generally from the front 32 toward the rear 34 of the base 12.

OPERATION OF FIG. 1 1

The stop 620 will operate with the phototypesetter 10 to assure a consistent character spacing, in a manner similar to that EMBODIMENTS OF FIG. 12

The modified stop62d, shown in FIG. 12, is also of the permanent or fixed-location type, similar to'the stops 62b and 62c, described before, rather than the adjustable type similar to the stop 62. One of the salient differences between the stop 62d and the stops described before is the shape of the stop edge 8241 which is formed thereon.

The stop edge 82d has a plurality serrations or stop engaging edges 190 formed thereon. Each serration I90 corresponds to a particular character width and cooperates with a particular indexing aperture 96 to define the movement of the photosensitive material 26 in the character spacing gap, the movement therein being similar to that described before.

In one form and as shown in FIG. 12, the stop engaging edges or serrations 190 define a step-like stop edge 82d geometry or in another form a complex curvature type of geometry. In this form of the invention, a particular transverse position is assigned to each character occurring or the photomatrix. It is apparent, that each photomatrix would then require a special stop 62d associated therewith wherein the stop edge 82d is shaped in accordance 'with the particular character widths thereon. I

It also should be noted, that the particular scheme illustrated in FIG. 12 assigns the position of each stop engaging edge 190 in the usual order of increasing width asfound in most (but not necessarily all) type styles, beginning with the character I at the top. If this particular sizing scheme is utilized, the successive positions of the stop engaging edges 190 need only differ by one-half of the thickness of the engaging end 138 of the stylus 64.

EMBODIMENT OF FIG. 13

A modified stop 62e and a modified bearing strip 60e are shown in FIG. 13, and both are adapted to be utilized in a phototypesetter, as generally shown in FIG. 1 and described before. The modified stop 62e isconstructed similar'to the stops described before, the salient difference being that the stop edge 82c is shaped to extend transversely'across a portion of the base 12, (normal to the line of character alignment). The modified bearing strip 60 is constructed similar to the bearing strip 60, described before, the salient difference being that the leading edge e is shaped to extend angularly across a portion of the base 12, generally at an angle 192 to a line extending parallel to the line along which the characters of the photomatrix 91 are aligned.

OPERATION or FIG. 13

The modified stop 62c and the modified bearing strip 60e will operate with the phototypesetter in a manner substan tially similar to that described before. The salient difference in utilization is that the leading edge 80:: is angularly shaped and adapted to cooperate with the indexing apertures 96 to define a character spacing gap corresponding to the width of the particular character to be imprinted on the photosensitive material 26. It is apparent from the foregoing that the leading edge 80:: functions similar to the stop edge 82 of the stop 62, and the stop edge 82e function in a manner similar to the leading edge 80 of the bearing strip 60, and the leading edge 80 therefore cooperates with the stop edge 82a to provide the character spacing gap in much the same manner as described before.

EMBODIMENT or FIGS. 14 AND Shown in FIGS. 14 and l5.and designated by the general reference character 200 is an alternate apparatus for advancing the photosensitive material 26 through the character spacing gap. The material advancing apparatus 200 basically comprises a pad 202 which is reciprocatingly disposed in a groove 204 in the base. The pad 202 has an upper and a lower portion 206 and 208, respectively. An engaging pad 210 is secured to the upper portion 206 and, in a preferred form, the engaging pad 210 is constructed of a resilient material, adapted to engage and move the photosensitive material 26 in a manner to be more fully described below.

As shown more clearly in FIG. 15, the upper portion 206 is angularly disposed with respect to the lower portion 208 of the pad 202, such that in the non-operating position, the upper portion 206 is disposed adjacent the base and the lower portion 208 is disposed generally adjacent the lower surface of the stop 62 and the lower surface of the flange portion 80 of the bearing strip 60.

A shallow groove 212 is formed in the upper face of the lower portion 208 of the pad 202, and the groove 212 is shaped and adapted to engage the lower engaging portion 138 of the stylus 64 during the operation thereof, as will be described below.

A projecting boss 214 is formed along a central portion of the pad 202 and extends transversely thereacross. The boss 214 is shaped to slidingly and reciprocatingly fit in the groove 204 in the base. A guide rod 216 is journalled through a central portion of theboss 214, and issized and shaped to extend generally parallel to the groove 204, when the material advancing apparatus 200 is in the assembled position, as shown in FIGS. 14 and 15. The guide rod 216 defines an axis about which the pad 202 will reciprocate during the operation thereof, as will be described in more detail below.

I A spring 218 is disposed about a portion of the guide rod 216, generally adjacent one end thereof. The spring 218 is sized and disposed such that one end thereof engages the wall formed in the base 12f by the groove 204, generally adjacent one end thereof, and the opposite end of the spring 218 biasingly engages one end of the pad 202. It is apparent from the v foregoing that the spring 218 biases the pad 202 in a direction generally toward the end 30 of the base and toward a nonoperating position, as shown in FIGS. 14 and 15.

OPERATION OF F IGS. 14 AND 15 The material advancing apparatus 200 is adapted to move the photosensitive material 26 through the character spacing in the groove 212 of the pad 202, and pressure is applied by the operator causing the pad 202 to rotate about the axis defined by the guide rod 216, thereby rotating the engaging pad 210 of the upper portion 206 to a position wherein the engaging pad 210 engages the underface of the photosensitive material 26.

In this position, the stylus 64 is moved across the character spacing gap in a manner as described before. The engagement between the underside of the photosensitive material 26 and the upper portion of the engaging pad 210, causes the photosensitive material 26 to be advanced transversely across the base 12f, following the movement of the pad 202.

Upon withdrawal of the stylus 64 from engagement with the groove 212 in the pad 202, the pad 202 will rotate about its axis to the non-operating position, thereby releasing the photosensitive material in engagement therewith. The pad 202 is then resiliently biased to the non-operating position by the spring 218.

EMBODIMENT or FIG. 16

A material substrate 250 is shown in FIG. 16, and is adapted to slidingly fit into the material guide channel 44 of the base 12. In this form of the invention, the photosensitive material 26 is affixed to an upper portion of the substrate 250 as shown in FIG. 16. A strip of frictional material 252 is affixed or bonded to a lower portion of the substrate 250 and is sized and disposed such that the lower engaging end 138 of 'the stylus 64 will impinge thereupon during the operation of the device. In a preferred form, the frictional material 252 should be slightly resilient and should have a relatively good elastic recovery so that the impressions of the stylus 64 will not interfere with the re-use thereof. The substrate 250, shown in FIG. 16, provides a relatively rigid carrying media for the photosensitive material 26 as the photosensitive material 26 is advanced through the phototypesetter 10. The phototypesetter 10 utilizing the substrate 250 will operate substantially similar to that described before, the salient difference being that the lower engaging end 138 of the stylus 64 engages the frictional material 252, rather than the photosensitive material 26, as the photosensitive material is advanced across the character spacing gap. This particular embodiment has been found to be particularly useful for carrying relatively thin'-base films and materials which are too flimsy to track well in the material guide channel 44.

It is apparent from the foregoing, that the phototypesetter described herein provides an apparatus which is adapted to imprint characters from a photomatrix upon a photosensitive material in a manner positively assuring a consistent character spacing in the final composition. This character spacing is accomplished in a manner which virtually eliminates errors due to operator indiscretion, and thus the phototypesetter may be utilized by skilled as well as unskilled operators without affecting the quality of the final product. It should also be noted that the phototypesetter described above assures the consistent character spacing in a positive manner such that the operator time required to complete a particular composition is substantially reduced.

Changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of parts or elements of the various embodiments as disclosed herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.

What is claimed is: I

1. A phototypesetting apparatus for imprinting characters being disposed in a corresponding relationship with the several characters on the photomatrix, and said indexing slide defining with said base, a space for receiving and retaining between the slide, and base the photosensitive material on which characters are to be imprinted;

spacing means mounted on said base and having a leading edge and a stop edge spaced from each other in a direction substantially parallel to the line of alignment of the characters in said photomatrix, the spacing between said leading edge and a given point on said stop edge defining a character spacing gap equivalent to the sum of the inter-character spacing between adjacent characters to be imprinted on the photosensitive material and the width of a particular character, said character spacing gap being shaped and disposed such that some of the indexing apertures can be communicated with a portion of the photosensitive material generally between the leading edge and the stop edge, in one position of the indexing slide;

engaging means to engage and move the photosensitive material within the character spacing gap via one of said indexing apertures, said means being adapted to alternately engage the leading edge and the stop edge of the spacing means, thereby limiting the movement of the last mentioned means within said character spacing gap, and positively limiting the movementof the photosensitive material in engagement therewith; and illuminating means disposed on the base adapted to imprint a character from the photomatrix upon the photosensitive material.

2. The phototypesetter of claim 1 wherein the leading edge and the stop edge of said spacing means are defined further as being non-parallel and defining therebetween a character spacing gap which varies from a maximum to a minimum in one direction thereacross; and wherein said indexing apertures are disposed in said indexing slide in locations corresponding to a particular character spacing gap and being aligned with spaced points on said stop edge.

3. The phototypesetter of claim 1 wherein the indexing slide is defined further to include a plurality of auxiliary indexing apertures, some of said auxiliary indexing apertures being disposed in a corresponding relationship with some of the characters on the photomatrix, said auxiliary indexing apertures being disposed on the indexing slide in locations corresponding to a particular character spacing gap and independently aligned with spaced points on the stop edge to allow Kerning.

4. The phototypesetter of claim 2 wherein said leading edge extends substantially normal to the line of alignment of the characters of the photomatrix; and wherein the stop edge is angularly disposed over a portion of the photosensitive material with respect to said line of alignment.

5. The phototypesetter of claim 2 wherein the stop edge extends substantially normal to the line of alignment of the characters of the photomatrix; and wherein the leading edge is angularly disposed over a portion of the photosensitive material with respect to said line of alignment.

6. The phototypesetter of claim 2 wherein the leading edge extends substantially normal to the line of alignment of the characters of the photomatrix; and wherein a portion of the stop edge is disposed at one angle over a portion of the photosensitive material with respect to said line of alignment, and the remaining portion of the stop edge is disposed at another angle with respect to said line of alignment.

7. The phototypesetter of claim 2 wherein the leading edge extends substantially normal to the line of alignment of the characters of the photomatrix; and wherein the stop edge is defined further to include a plurality of engaging surfaces formed therein, each engaging surface being spaced from the leading edge a distance defining a particular character spacing gap therebetween.

8. The phototypesetter of claim 1 wherein said spacing means is defined further to include a portion thereof adjustably secured to the base for movement in a plane parallel to the plane of said indexing slide, the character spacing gap being thereby selectively altered as the position of said adjustable portion is moved.

9. The phototypesetter of claim 1 wherein said spacing means is defined further to include;

a stop disposed on said base, said stop edge being formed on one end portion of the stop; and

a strip disposed on said base, said leading edge being formed on one end of the strip and facing said stop edge.

10. The phototypesetter of claim 9 wherein the stop edge of said stop is angularly disposed relative to the line of alignment of said character; and wherein said stop is adjustably secured to said base, the angular disposition of the stop edge being selectively altered by adjusting theposition of the stop on the base.

1 l. The phototypesetter of claim '9 wherein said strip is defined further as being adjustably secured to said base for movement of said leading edge in a direction generally toward or away from said stop edge, the character spacing gap between said edges being thereby selectively altered.

12. The phototypesetter of claim 1 wherein said illuminating means further comprises:

lamp means mounted on said base; an

shutter means disposed on the base generally between the lamp means and the indexing slide, said shutter means forming an exposure opening therethrough, said exposure opening defining a path through which light from the lamp means passes to expose a character upon the photosensitive material.

13. The phototypesetter of claim 12 wherein the shutter means is defined further to include:

a stationary shutter secured to the base end having an an edge formed thereon; and

a movable shutter slidingly disposed onthe base and having an edge formed thereon, said edge of the movable shutter generally facing said edge of the stationary shutter, the distance between said edges defining the exposure opening of the shutter means. 7

14. The phototypesetter of claim 13 wherein the engaging means is defined further as having a portion thereof adapted to engage said edge of the movable shutter, and slidingly move said movable shutter a distance across the character spacing gap, said distance corresponding to the width of a particular character to be imprinted on the photosensitive material.

15. The phototypesetter of claim 1 defined further to in.- clude a mask constructed of an opaque material disposed on said base between one end of the base and said spacing means to prevent premature exposure to the photosensitive material.

16. A phototypesetting apparatus for imprinting characters from a photomatrix on a photosensitive material wherein the proper inter-character spacing on the final composition is assured in a positive manner, such apparatus comprising:

a base having opposite end portions and adapted to slidingly receive the photosensitive material;

an indexing slide slidably mounted on said base and carrying a photomatrix of characters to be imprinted on a photosensitive material, said characters being aligned in the direction of sliding movement of said slide on said base, and said indexing slide having indexing apertures extending therethrough in a spacial relationship to each other and to the line of alignment of the photomatrix characters correlated to the width of the several characters of the photomatrix, and said indexing slide defining with said base, a channel for receiving and retaining between the slide and base the photosensitive material on which characters are to be imprinted;

spacing means mounted on said base and having a leading edge and a stop edge spaced from each other in a direction substantially parallel to the line of alignment of the characters in said photomatrix, the spacing between said leading edge and a given point on said stop edge being equivalent to the sum of the inter-character spacing means on said base generally aligned with the space between said leading edge and stop edge for illuminating the portion of the photomatrix on said indexing slide which is disposed in said space to imprint a character from the photomatrix upon a photosensitive material in said channel and aligned with the space between the leading edge and stop edge; and means facilitating interengagement of a portion of said indexing slide via one of said apertures with a photosensitive material in said channel when said portion is disposed in alignment with the space between said stop edge and said leading edge, said means separating said portion from said photosensitive material to prevent said interengagement when said portion is not so aligned.

* l I "I II 

1. A phototypesetting apparatus for imprinting characters from a photomatrix on a photosensitive material wherein the proper character spacing on the final composition is assured in a positive manner, such apparatus comprising: a base having opposite end portions and adapted to slidingly receive the photosensitive material; an indexing slide slidably mounted on said base and carrying a photomatrix of characters to be imprinted on a photosensitive material, said characters being aligned in the direction of sliding movement of said slide on said base, said indexing slide having a plurality of apertures formed through a portion thereof, said indexing apertures being disposed in a corresponding relationship with the several characters on the photomatrix, and said indexing slide defining with said base, a space for receiving and retaining between the slide and base the photosensitive material on which characters are to be imprinted; spacing means mounted on said base and having a leading edge and a stop edge spaced from each other in a direction substantially parallel to the line of alignment of the characters in said photomatrix, the spacing between said leading edge and a given point on said stop edge defining a character spacing gap equivalent to the sum of the inter-character spacing between adjacent characters to be imprinted on the photosensitive material and the width of a particular character, said character spacing gap being shaped and disposed such that some of the indexing apertures can be communicated with a portion of the photosensitive material generally between the leading edge and the stop edge, in one position of the indexing slide; engaging means to engage and move the photosensitive material within the character spacing gap via one of said indexing apertures, said means being adapted to alternately engage the leading edge and the stop edge of the spacing means, thereby limiting the movement of the last mentioned means within said character spacing gap, and positively limiting the movement of the photosensitive material in engagement therewith; and illuminating means disposed on the base adapted to imprint a character from the photomatrix upon the photosensitive material.
 2. The phototypesetter of claim 1 wherein the leading edge and the stop edge of said spacing means are defined further as being non-parallel and defining therebetween a character spacing gap which varies from a maximum to a minimum in one direction thereacross; and wherein said indexing apertures are disposed in said indexing slide in locations corresponding to a particular character spacing gap and being aligned with spaced points on said stop edge.
 3. The phototypesetter of claim 1 wherein the indexing slide is defined further to include a plurality of auxiliary indexing apertures, some of said auxiliary indexing apertures being disposed in a corresponding relationship with some of the characters on the photomatrix, said auxiliary indexing apertures being disposed on the indexing slide in locations corresponding to a particular character spacing gap and independently aligned with spaced points on the stop edge to allow ''''Kerning.''''
 4. The phototypesetter of claim 2 wherein said leading edge extends substantially normal to the line of alignment of the characters of the photomatrix; and wherein the stop edge is angularly disposed over a portion of the photosensitive material with respect to said line of alignment.
 5. The phototypesetter of claim 2 wherein the stop edge extends substantially normal to the line of alignment of the characters of the photomatrix; and wherein the leading edge is angularly disposed over a portion of the photosensitive material with respect to said line of alignment.
 6. The phototypesetter of claim 2 wherein the leading edge extends substantially normal to the line of alignment of the characters of the photomatrix; and wherein a portion of the stop edge is disposed at one angle over a portion of the photosensitive material with respect to said line of alignment, and the remaining portion of the stop edge is disposed at another angle with respect to said line of alignment.
 7. The phototypesetter of claim 2 wherein the leading edge extends substantially normal to the line of alignment of the characters of the photomatrix; and wherein the stop edge is defined further to include a plurality of engaging surfaces formed therein, each engaging surface being spaced from the leading edge a distance defining a particular character spacing gap therebetween.
 8. The phototypesetter of claim 1 wherein said spacing means is defined further to include a portion thereof adjustably secured to the base for movement in a plane parallel to the plane of said indexing slide, the character spacing gap being thereby selectively altered as the position of said adjustable portion is moved.
 9. The phototypesetter of claim 1 wherein said spacing means is defined further to include; a stop disposed on said base, said stop edge being formed on one end portion of the stop; and a strip disposed on said base, said leading edge being formed on one end of the strip and facing said stop edge.
 10. The phototypesetter of claim 9 wherein the stop edge of said stop is angularly disposed relative to the line of alignment of said character; and wherein said stop is adjustably secured to said base, the angular disposition of the stop edge being selectively altered by adjusting the position of the stop on the base.
 11. The phototypesetter of claim 9 wherein said strip is defined further as being adjustably secured to said base for movement of said leading edge in a direction generally toward or away from said stop edge, the character spacing gap between said edges being thereby selectively altered.
 12. The phototypesetter of claim 1 wherein said illuminating means further comprises: lamp means mounted on said base; and shutter means disposed on the base generally between the lamp means and the indexing slide, said shutter means forming an exposure opening therethrough, said exposure opening defining a path through which light from the lamp means passes to expose a character upon the photosensitive material.
 13. The phototypesetter of claim 12 wherein the shutter means is defined further to include: a stationary shutter secured to the base end having an an edge formed thereon; and a movable shutter slidingly disposed on the base and having an edge formed thereon, said edge of the movable shutter generally facing said edge of the stationary shutter, the distance between said edges defining the exposure opening of the shutter means.
 14. The phototypesetter of claim 13 wherein the engaging means is defined further as having a portion thereof adapted to engage said edge of the movable shutter, and slidingly move said movable shutter a distance across the character spacing gap, said distance corresponding to the width of a particular character to be imprinted on the photosensitive material.
 15. The phototypesetter of claim 1 defined further to include a mask constructed of an opaque material disposed on said base between one end of the base and said spacing means to prevent premature exposure to the photosensitive material.
 16. A phototypesetting apparatus for imprinting characters from a photomatrix on a photosensitive material wherein the proper inter-character spacing on the final composition is assured in a positive manner, such apparatus comprising: a base having opposite end portions and adapted to slidingly receive the photosensitive material; an indexing slide slidably mounted on said base and carrying a photomatrix of characters to be imprinted on a photosensitive material, said characters being aligned in the direction of sliding movement of said slide on said base, and said indexing slide having indexing apertures extending therethrough in a spacial relationship to each other and to the line of alignment of the photomatrix characters correlated to the width of the several characters of the photomatrix, and said indexing slide defining with said base, a channel for receiving and retaining between the slide and base the photosensitive material on which characters are to be imprinted; spacing means mounted on said base and having a leading edge and a stop edge spaced from each other in a direction substantially parallel to the line of alignment of the characters in said photomatrix, the spacing between said leading edge and a given point on said stop edge being equivalent to the sum of the inter-character spacing between adjacent characters to be imprinted on the photosensitive material and the width of a particular character thereof, said indexing slide and channel being oriented relative to said spacing means to provide concurrent movement of one of said apertures and a point in said photosensitive material in registry therewith from said leading edge to said stop edge when said indexing slide is slid along said base concurrently with a movement of the photosensitive material in said channel; means on said base generally aligned with the space between said leading edge and stop edge for illuminating the portion of the photomatrix on said indexing slide which is disposed in said space to imprint a character from the photomatrix upon a photosensitive material in said channel and aligned with the space between the leading edge and stop edge; and means facilitating interengagement of a portion of said indexing slide via one of said apertures with a photosensitive material in said channel when said portion is disposed in alignment with the space between said stop edge and said leading edge, said means separating said portion from said photosensitive material to prevent said interengagement when said portion is not so aligned. 